b. By 2024, introduce and implement safeguard in its nationality law to grant nationality to children born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless. c. By 2024, introduce a law reform to prevent denial or attribution of nationality at birth on discriminatory grounds. d. By 2024, ensure that the Maragoli, Benet, Ugandan-Asian and other unrecognised communities present in Uganda since before 1926 are recognised as citizens of Uganda. e. Accede to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness f. By 20204, finalise and approve the National Action Plan to serve as the national strategy to eradicate statelessness in the country by 2024. 5. In line with the six pledges submitted by Uganda on the occasion of the High-Level Segment on Statelessness in October 2019, a Cabinet Memo to accede to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness was prepared for the Attorney General’s attention and received an affirmative response of no objection (Pledge 1).66 There has also been a concerted effort by non-state actors towards the eradication of statelessness. With the leadership of UNHCR, the launch of the I-Belong campaign helped raise awareness amongst the different practitioners and affected communities by bringing visibility to the plight of stateless communities and initiating dialogue aimed at putting an end to statelessness. In 2019, for instance, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and UNHCR convened a workshop to develop a National Action Plan to end Statelessness which was later validated and adopted (Pledge 2).67 Also, a private Members Bill for Constitutional Amendment was introduced in Parliament to recognise or include the Maragoli as one of the indigenous tribes in Uganda (Pledge 6) and it will be included in the third schedule of the 1995 Constitution.68 6. Uganda is a party to the following regional conventions: a. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which calls for the elimination of all discrimination on the basis of sex. b. The 2003 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Article 6). c. The 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Article 6). 7. According to an Equal Opportunities Commission report, the lack of a framework to implement international conventions poses a significant challenge in harmonising constitutional rights for ethnic minorities with international standards and makes the enforcement and monitoring of their rights difficult.69 UNHCR, Operational Update, 2020, available at: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Uganda%20Operational%20Update%20-%20December%202020.pdf 67 UNHCR, Monthly Protection Update - Urban Protection Response, (September 2019), available at: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/72929.pdf. 68 UNHCR, Operational Update, 2020, available at: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Uganda%20Operational%20Update%20-%20December%202020.pdf 69 Equal Opportunities Commission, Annual Report on the State of Equal Opportunities in Uganda,(Uganda, (March 2014), available at: https://www.eoc.go.ug/sites/equalopportunities/files/publications/final_annual_report_on_the_state_of_equal_opportunities _in_uganda_8th_may_2014.pdf. 66 14